7.1 Earthquake Hits Mexico City, At Least 55 People Reported Dead

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A spokesman for Puebla's interior department says that 11 people have died so far in the central Mexican state following a magnitude 7.1 quake.

The deaths reported by spokesman Francisco Sanchez bring the toll across Mexico to 55.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered near the Puebla state town of Raboso, about 76 miles (123 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City.

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Gala Dluzhynska was taking a class with 11 other women on the second floor of a building in Mexico City's Roma district when the structure collapsed during a magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

More than two hours after the quake, the women stood on the sidewalk across the street covered from head-to-toe in dust. One had a cut on her foot that was being bandaged.

Dluzhynska said the building's stairway was very tight and surrounded with glass. As they ran out of the building amid the quake, everything started falling around them. Some people panicked. She said she fell in the stairway and others began to walk over her.

She shouted for help and someone pulled her to her feet. She said the dust was so thick you couldn't see anything.

"There weren't any stairs anymore only rocks," she said.

When they reached the bottom, an exit gate was locked and they began to scream for help. People were pushing her from behind against the bars. Finally, a security guard came and unlocked the gate. Outside it was all rubble.